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Chapter 35: Beyond the Veil

Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China)
帷幔彼岸
Wéimàn bǐ'àn
帷幔 wéimàn = 'curtain'.
彼岸 bǐ'àn = 'the far shore, the other side'.
The other side of the curtain
Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan)
紗幕外
Shāmù-wài
紗幕 shāmù = 'sheer curtain'.
wài = 'outside'.
Outside the veil
Japanese
ベールの彼方に
Bēru no kanata ni
ベール bēru = 'veil (from English)'.
no = connecting particle
彼方 kanata = 'over beyond'.
ni = 'in, at'.
Beyond the veil
Korean
베일 속으로
Beil sog-eulo
Pending
Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology)
Bên kia bức màn bên kia = 'the other side, beyond'.
bức màn = 'curtain'.
Beyond the curtain
Mongolian (new)
Хөшигийн цаад талд
Khöshigin tsaad tald
Pending

A veil in English is usually something that hides the reality of something. Tearing down the veil reveals the reality. This is a very suggestive title implying that there is only a thin veil between us and the world of the dead.

The Taiwanese translator adheres to the flimsy-sounding veil of the English.

The Chinese translator substitutes a more substantial curtain. By using the term 彼岸 bǐ'àn, however, she manages to retain some of the connotations of English 'veil'. 彼岸 bǐ'àn is a literary term meaning 'far shore'. It has a number of abstract associations, including the far shore of a river or sea, a yearned-for place, or a place that is free of the suffering of the world in Buddhist thought, another way of expressing death.

Japanese uses the word ベール bēru, a borrowing from English. 彼方 kanata is a somewhat literary or poetic term referring to something 'beyond', often far off or in the distance.

The Vietnamese translator uses the word bức màn meaning 'curtain'. This word is used in 'the iron curtain' and 'the bamboo curtain' in Vietnamese.

(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)

Chapter 34
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